Champions League: Champions League 2008-2009

Ozren Podnar

Quarterfinals full of repeats as old foes meet again

English soccer has reconquered most of Europe as the whole four-team contingent has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the second consecutive year. Two years ago, three Premier League teams were present at this stage – Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United – but it was Italy that produced the winner in AC Milan, who trounced United 3-0 in the semis in an exhibition rarely seen on the European scene.

A mere look at this year's quarterfinal draws suggests that the final game could feature an English time for the fifth year running, after Liverpool reached that stage in 2005 and 2007, Arsenal in 2006 and Manchester United and Chelsea last year.

The Premiership teams emphasized their superiority with a triple win over the Italian rivals in the round of 16. In the stellar tie, the clash between the national champions, Manchester United had a pretty simple job of ousting Inter with a 2-0 aggregate. This meant that Inter went down to an English competition for the second time in a row without scoring. Twelve months before, Liverpool did the job with a 3-0 aggregate.

Chelsea fulfilled expectations against Juventus, although the Zebras fell with honour, having come within inches of wiping out the 0-1 deficit from the first leg. The third Anglo-italian derby saw the most excitement as Arsenal picked up the prize of the quarterfinals in the lottery of penalty kicks. And the Gunners were not daunted even though Eduardo da Silva missed a rare penalty in the first series after Roma dominated most of the 120 minutes in the return leg.

Still, it was Liverpool who stole the show by demolishing Real Madrid in both legs, notably in the return at Anfield. The 4-0 win, comprising two goals from Steven Gerrard, was the heaviest of Real's defeats in Europe since the 0-5 disaster at Milan in 1989.

Charming dance of the ballots

The ballots in the draw drum played a charming game during the draw at Nyon, matching old rivals in all four quarterfinal ties. Even Arsenal and Villarreal had already met in Europe, although the Spaniards are relative newcomers to the continental elite. Who could forget their semifinal clash in 2005/06 when Villarreal came close to edging Arsenal, but Juan Román Riquelme missed a penalty which would have put the Yellow Submarine level.

Barcelona and Bayern have met twice and the Bavarians went through both times. The first encounter took place in 1995/96 in the UEFA Cup semifinals, when Barcelona squandered a great opportunity after drawing 2-2 in Munich and losing 1-2 at Camp Nou. The defeat spelt the end of Johan Cruyff's era on Barca's bench, while Bayern went all the way, winning the trophy against Bordeaux.

Three seasons later, the two clubs met in the group stage of the Champions League and the Germans won both games by 1-0 at home and 2-1 in Barcelona. Bayern went on to the finals where they lost an epic game against Manchester United by 1-2. At Camp Nou, of all places.

Manchester United and Porto have the longest tradition spanning more than three decades, since Porto upset the Red Devils in the Cup Winners' Cup. Almost 20 years later, United struck back with an aggregate 4-0 in the Champions League quarterfinals, but then Porto was taken over by José Mourinho whose magnificent team shocked the United supporters yet again in the knockout stages of 2003/04.

None of the aforementioned European classics can measure up to the now famous annual Liverpool vs. Chelsea duel. The two teams have been paired five times in a row, including this current season, and in the previous eight games no team scored more than one goal per game, excluding extra-times and penalties. In the knockout stages, Liverpool went through twice and Chelsea once, but both teams progressed in 2005/06 from the group phase.

The winner of the Liverpool vs. Chelsea tie will go on to meet the winner of Barcelona vs. Bayern, while Manchester United or Porto will have to deal with either Villarreal or Arsenal in the easier part of the draw. United, so it seems, face an open path to a second consecutive finals, this time in Rome.

Round of 16

1st 2nd

Lyon vs. Barcelona 1-1 2-5
Atletico Madrid vs. Porto 2-2 0-0
Chelsea vs. Juventus 1-0 2-2
Inter vs. Manchester United 0-0 0-2
Arsenal vs. Roma 1-0 0-1 5-4 (pen)
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool 0-1 0-4
Villarreal vs. Panathinaikos 1-1 2-1
Sporting Lisbon vs. Bayern 0-5 1-7

Quarterfinals

Villarreal vs. Arsenal
Manchester United vs. Porto
Liverpool vs. Chelsea
Barcelona vs. Bayern

Games to be played on 7/8th and 14/15th April.

Semifinals

Manchester Utd./Porto vs. Villarreal/Arsenal
Barcelona/Bayern vs. Liverpool/Chelsea
Games to be played on 28/29th April and 5/6th May

The final will take place on May 27th at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Ozren Podnar

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